Government priorities on provincial Nutrient Management Planning (NMP) programs include improving the program effectiveness for environmental quality protection, and promoting more widespread adoption. Understanding the effect of NMP on both crop yield and key water-quality parameters in agricultural watersheds requires a comprehensive evaluation that takes into consideration important NMP attributes and location-specific farming conditions. This study applied the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to investigate the effects of crop and rotation sequence, tillage type, and nutrient N application rate on crop yield and the associated groundwater [Formula: see text] leaching and sediment loss. The SWAT model was applied to the Thomas Brook Watershed, located in the most intensively managed agricultural region of Nova Scotia, Canada. Cropping systems evaluated included seven fertilizer application rates and two tillage systems (i.e., conventional tillage and no-till). The analysis reflected cropping systems commonly managed by farmers in the Annapolis Valley region, including grain corn-based and potato-based cropping systems, and a vegetable-horticulture system. ANOVA models were developed and used to assess the effects of crop management choices on crop yield and two water-quality parameters (i.e., [Formula: see text] leaching and sediment loading). Results suggest that existing recommended N-fertilizer rate can be reduced by 10-25 %, for grain crop production, to significantly lower [Formula: see text] leaching (P > 0.05) while optimizing the crop yield. The analysis identified the nutrient N rates in combination with specific crops and rotation systems that can be used to manage [Formula: see text] leaching while balancing impacts on crop yields within the watershed.

Access to adequate quantities of water has a protective effect on human health and well-being. Despite this, public health research and interventions are frequently focused solely on water quality, and international standards for domestic water supply minimums are often overlooked or unspecified. This trend is evident in Inuit and other Arctic communities even though numerous transmissible diseases and bacterium infections associated with inadequate domestic water quantities are prevalent.

Our objective was to explore the pathways by which the trucked water distribution systems being used in remote northern communities are impacting health at the household level, with consideration given to the underlying social and environmental determinants shaping health in the region.

Using a qualitative case study design, we conducted 37 interviews (28 residents, 9 key informants) and a review of government water documents to investigate water usage practices and perspectives. These data were thematically analysed to understand potential health risks in Arctic communities and households.

Each resident receives an average of 110 litres of municipal water per day. Fifteen of 28 households reported experiencing water shortages at least once per month. Of those 15, most were larger households (5 people or more) with standard sized water storage tanks. Water shortages and service interruptions limit the ability of some households to adhere to public health advice. The households most resilient, or able to cope with domestic water supply shortages, were those capable of retrieving their own drinking water directly from lake and river sources. Residents with extended family and neighbours, whom they can rely on during shortages, were also less vulnerable to municipal water delays.

The relatively low in-home water quantities observed in Coral Harbour, Nunavut, appear adequate for some families. Those living in overcrowded households, however, are accessing water in quantities more typically seen in water insecure developing countries. We recommend several practical interventions and revisions to municipal water supply systems.

Most arctic communities use primary wastewater treatment systems that are capable of only low levels of pathogen removal. Effluent potentially containing fecally derived microorganisms is released into wetlands and marine waters that may simultaneously serve as recreation or food harvesting locations for local populations. The purpose of this study is to provide the first estimates of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) attributable to wastewater treatment systems in Arctic Canada. A screening-level, point estimate quantitative microbial risk assessment model was developed to evaluate worst-case scenarios across an array of exposure pathways in five case study locations. A high annual AGI incidence rate of 5.0 cases per person is estimated in Pangnirtung, where a mechanical treatment plant discharges directly to marine waters, with all cases occurring during low tide conditions. The probability of AGI per person per single exposure during this period ranges between 1.0?×?10-1 (shore recreation) and 6.0?×?10-1 (shellfish consumption). A moderate incidence rate of 1.2 episodes of AGI per person is estimated in Naujaat, where a treatment system consisting of a pond and tundra wetland is used, with the majority of cases occurring during spring. The pathway with the highest individual probability of AGI per single exposure event is wetland travel at 6.0?×?10-1. All other risk probabilities per single exposure are

Wastewater management in Canadian Arctic communities is influenced by several geographical factors including climate, remoteness, population size, and local food-harvesting practices. Most communities use trucked collection services and basic treatment systems, which are capable of only low-level pathogen removal. These systems are typically reliant solely on natural environmental processes for treatment and make use of existing lagoons, wetlands, and bays. They are operated in a manner such that partially treated wastewater still containing potentially hazardous microorganisms is released into the terrestrial and aquatic environment at random times. Northern communities rely heavily on their local surroundings as a source of food, drinking water, and recreation, thus creating the possibility of human exposure to wastewater effluent. Human exposure to microbial hazards present in municipal wastewater can lead to acute gastrointestinal illness or more severe disease. Although estimating the actual disease burdens associated with wastewater exposures in Arctic communities is challenging, waterborne- and sanitation-related illness is believed to be comparatively higher than in other parts of Canada. This review offers a conceptual framework and evaluation of current knowledge to enable the first microbial risk assessment of exposure scenarios associated with food-harvesting and recreational activities in Arctic communities, where simplified wastewater systems are being operated.

Wastewater management in Canadian Arctic communities is influenced by several geographical factors including climate, remoteness, population size, and local food-harvesting practices. Most communities use trucked collection services and basic treatment systems, which are capable of only low-level pathogen removal. These systems are typically reliant solely on natural environmental processes for treatment and make use of existing lagoons, wetlands, and bays. They are operated in a manner such that partially treated wastewater still containing potentially hazardous microorganisms is released into the terrestrial and aquatic environment at random times. Northern communities rely heavily on their local surroundings as a source of food, drinking water, and recreation, thus creating the possibility of human exposure to wastewater effluent. Human exposure to microbial hazards present in municipal wastewater can lead to acute gastrointestinal illness or more severe disease. Although estimating the actual disease burdens associated with wastewater exposures in Arctic communities is challenging, waterborne- and sanitation-related illness is believed to be comparatively higher than in other parts of Canada. This review offers a conceptual framework and evaluation of current knowledge to enable the first microbial risk assessment of exposure scenarios associated with food-harvesting and recreational activities in Arctic communities, where simplified wastewater systems are being operated.

Safe drinking water and wastewater sanitation are universally recognized as critical components of public health. It is well documented that a lack of access to these basic services results in millions of preventable deaths each year among vulnerable populations. Water and wastewater technologies and management practices are frequently tailored to local environmental conditions. Also important, but often overlooked in water management planning, are the social, cultural and economic contexts in which services are provided. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify and understand residents' perceptions of the functionality of current water and wastewater sanitation systems in one vulnerable context, that of a remote Arctic Aboriginal community (Coral Harbour, Nunavut), and to identify potential future water related health risks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 Inuit residents and 9 key informants in 2011 and 2012. Findings indicate that the population's rapid transition from a semi-nomadic hunting and gathering lifestyle to permanent settlements with municipally provided utilities is influencing present-day water usage patterns, public health perceptions, and the level of priority decision-makers place on water and wastewater management issues. Simultaneously environmental, social and cultural conditions conducive to increased human exposure to waterborne health risks were also found to exist and may be increasing in the settlements. While water and wastewater system design decisions are often based on best practices proven suitable in similar environmental conditions, this study reinforces the argument for inclusion of social, cultural, and economic variables in such decisions, particularly in remote and economically challenged contexts in Canada or elsewhere around the world. The results also indicate that the addition of qualitative data about water and wastewater systems users' behaviours to technical knowledge of systems and operations can enhance the understanding of human-water interactions and be valuable in risk assessments and intervention development.